Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1384
"However, don't you feel that a divided Imperium is more in the interests of the federation than an Imperium with concentrated power, an invincible army, and zealous people?"
The mental devil said solemnly, "By the way, I don't really care about it. After all, my strength grows when I feed on negative emotions and dark energy. What the queen does actually fits my appetite quite well. I'm just curious why you would agree to it."
"First of all, a 'weak Imperium' is not necessarily more favorable for the federation than a 'powerful Imperium'."
Li Yao said, "Don't forget that our original purpose is to achieve a certain balance between the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance so that the federation can secure the greatest advantage in the game as a 'new player'.
"Neither the Imperium being too strong nor being too weak is in the interests of the federation.
"If the Imperium is mired in the current chaos, or a confusing civil war breaks out in the competition for the new territory, the Covenant Alliance might take advantage of the weakness and completely demolish the Imperium. That will be even more terrible than having a 'new Imperium'!"
The mental devil said, "But…"
Li Yao smiled, his eyes not half as obscure as when he talked to Li Linghai a moment ago. He said confidently, "Besides, I don't think that the reform is going to be as easy as the queen has described just now.
"Did you not hear it? The queen's eloquent speech sounds fancy and sophisticated, but if we get to the bottom of it, she still fails to address the old system and the most fundamental contradiction.
"She is just trying to confiscate everything from the four Kurfürst families so that the temporary conflicts in the Imperium right now can be temporarily soothed with the bloody capitals earned through the confiscation.
"Perhaps her 'prescription' will prove more or less effective in the next one to two hundred years, but it will not cure the root of the disease. In another two hundred years, after the mountains of gold dug from the four Kurfürst families are used up, and the Imperium still can't find new living space and resources beyond the three thousand Sectors, what can be done? Wouldn't the previous vicious cycle be back again? Even the most 'fair' and 'honest' parliament will degenerate into the 'Council of Elders' of the Imperium today.
"It is exactly because I believe in the correctness of the path of the Cultivators that I am sure that the queen's approach will not work out, and that the 'new Imperium' in her dream will forever be a dream. She talks as if it were a simple task, but is it really so easy to be implanted?
"Besides, have you felt that the queen is absolutely not as calm and aloof as she appears to be? She is in fact an extremely insane gambler, and she is going to take the gamble however risky it is.
"With or without me, or even if I stay on her opposite side, she would still go down on the path of obstinacy until the end.
"With that in mind, we can only agree with her for now and take part in the 'reform' to figure out what her greatest leverage actually is, so that we can find a way to pull the chaotic situation in the Imperium to the direction that is most in favor of the Star Glory Federation."
Chapter 2166: Lesson of History |
The mental devil said, "It does make sense. In any case, considering the size of only ten or so Sectors at the edge of the cosmos, it is impossible for the Star Glory Federation to fully take over the center of the cosmos despite the enhancement of the Nuwa warship and the Kunlun relics.
"In the hundreds of prosperous worlds at the center of the cosmos, there is bound to be one or more regimes. It may be the old Imperium, the new Imperium, or any other country. Whatever the regime is, the true path of immortality is not going to be forgotten anytime soon, considering that it has been spread in this area for a thousand years and well believed by the people.
"Now that the Star Glory Federation is not ready to march to the center of the cosmos yet, we can only seek the second-best option right now, which is to create an Imperium that fits our appetite better."
Li Yao nodded his head. "That is exactly what I meant. Given the sharp contradictions in the Imperium of True Human Beings, even if there is not a 'queen in white' such as Li Linghai, there will always be a queen in red, queen in green, or queen in purple, who comes up with another version of reform.
"A storm that sweeps across the entire center of the cosmos seems inevitable now.
"For me, on one hand, I hope a new Imperium that is more favorable for the interests of the Star Glory Federation will show up after the storm; on the other hand, I also hope that the ordinary people do not suffer much pain and loss during the storm and that they can really earn something for themselves in the collapse of the four Kurfürst families!"
The mental devil chuckled. "Of course, if we truly make great contributions to the reform and become an important member of the government of the new Imperium, hahahaha, it certainly will be very awesome!
"We are experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage after all, and we are the queen's close subordinates. If her crazy plan does work out, it will seem quite unnecessary to hide our past, and it will really be quite possible for us to be the most important official in the court!
"Ding Lingdang is the Speaker of the Star Glory Federation. How about we help the queen establish a parliament for the new Imperium and be a Speaker too?"
"Well…"
Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "You know that I am not interested in fame and fortune. I do not want to be the most powerful official in court after all. In fact, I want to get as far away from it as possible.
"However, now that we are talking about it, it's true that I want to observe how the storm that sweeps across the Imperium will take place at the closest distance.
"Do you know? After hearing what the queen said, I've been studying Blackstar the Great.
"What kind of person was Wuying Qi exactly?
"More than a hundred years ago, when I listened to Su Changfa talking about Blackstar the Great in the Kunlun relic, he struck me as a ruthless, brutal man who would do anything for power.
"Later, the files that I got from Firefly further built up the impression. He was just a pure evil man!
"However, Di Feiwen, the deputy commander of the Black Wind Fleet, held a different view. He did not worship Blackstar the Great blindly but analyzed the policies in Wuying Qi's age. At the very least, for the merchants who did not come from noble backgrounds, the age of Blackstar the Great was the golden years that were full of changes and opportunities. It was much better than the suffocating environment of the Imperium right now that is monopolized by the nobles and magnates.
"Today, the queen has said so again. Although she must've been exaggerating something, she might not be entirely pointless.
"Everybody has their own theory. I'm really confused about what Blackstar the Great was like in history actually."
The mental devil yawned and said, "History is a fancy-looking bi*ch in the first place who does not speak anything truthfully. She is exactly what you want her to be like. But however sincere you are to her, and even if you think that she is sincere to you, it is impossible for you to figure out her realest look. Aren't you simply upsetting yourself by considering such questions?"
Li Yao smiled. "Perhaps you're right. I've thought it through now. It does matter what Blackstar the Great was actually like. Perhaps he was truly an unpardonable fiend, but such a moralistic judgment is utterly meaningless for a founding emperor.
"Is Blackstar the Great any different from the founding emperors of so many powerful dynasties in history? For example, what is the difference between him and the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty in the Ancient Sages Sector?
"Perhaps when they first built their enterprise, they all had their ambitions, hoping to change the problems of the past, make unprecedented accomplishments, and climb higher and higher mountains with their people and their civilizations.
"I don't believe that Blackstar the Great's original purpose was to establish an evil empire to brutally exploit the ordinary people, which would've been too low for him, right?
"However, everybody has their limits. Both their life and their cause cannot resist the passage and corrosion of time. Even the most splendid palace has its day of rotting and collapsing. The greatest ambitions and visions will still be swallowed by the selfish desires in the deepest part of the mind!"
The mental devil said, "Well, you are suddenly acting like a sophisticated poet. I'm having goosebumps. What are you trying to say exactly?"
After a long silence, Li Yao said, "I want to say that I'm somewhat scared to see the Imperium of True Human Beings in its current status."
The mental devil found it odd. "Why? It is exactly because the Imperium is in a mess that it does not have the time to attack the federation. If the Imperium were in unity, the federation would've been long crushed!"
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao said gloomily, "I'm scared that I will turn into another Blackstar the Great."
The mental devil hesitated for a long time before saying, "Well, I think your worries are ungrounded, and there should be a limit to your shamelessness. Regardless of Blackstar the Great's side, and even if he was an unparalleled fiend, he at least united hundreds of the most prosperous Sectors at the edge of the cosmos. He was the second greatest person next to the Supreme Emperor in the past ten thousand years!
"You are a 'dominator of three Sectors' at the edge of the cosmos at best, which is partly the result of your disciple Jin Xinyue's vehement promotion. If you are recorded in the official history of the Imperium, you will be nothing more than a barbarian master of a remote land. There's no need to be scared at all. Really. Just do whatever you want. You can't become Blackstar the Great in the next thousand years. Rest assured about that!"
"Try to get what I'm saying."
Li Yao said, "I am not talking about feats and sizes but the common conundrums that we are faced with.
"Leaving the ideology issues aside, is the Star Glory Federation today any different from the Imperium of True Human Beings a thousand years ago or the Star Ocean Republic several thousand years ago? They are all just born, full of vigor and ambitions, without many burdens from the past or interest groups that are too powerful. There are even benefits in many aspects that can accelerate the development of the country, improve the happiness of the people, and soothe the conflicts of different groups.
"But what will happen a few hundred years later?
"When the benefits from the Kunlun relic and the Nuwa warship run out, and the interest groups grow to the point that their greed and ambitions are awakened, what will happen?
"It can be seen from the collapse of the Star Ocean Republic.
"The Immortal Cultivators such as Su Changfa, Di Feiwen, and Li Linghai, and the Cultivators from Firefly such as Cui Lingfeng and Tang Zhengdong, all agreed that the Star Ocean Republic was indeed too sick to be saved at its last years.
"In other words, 'Cultivators' is not an elixir that can cure all diseases. You cannot ensure that you will stay uncorrupted, pure, bright, and righteous just by carving the word 'Cultivator' on your forehead.
"Cultivators can degenerate too, like those in the last years of the Star Ocean Republic. They were even corrupted to such an extent that the ordinary people chose Blackstar the Great over them.
"Perhaps, while the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators are against each other, they are faced with a common foe, which is something deep inside humanity.
"Who can ensure that the Cultivators of the Star Glory Federation will never be changed? Will the Star Glory Federation become the Star Ocean Republic in its last years and the Imperium of True Human Beings today several hundred years later? Will a class of powerful families and magnates that can swallow the country show up?"
The mental devil said, "You'll have to ask yourself the question. Getting to the bottom of it, your group is exactly the biggest and most influential one in the federation!"
"Yes. That's why I said that I'm scared that I will turn into the next 'Blackstar the Great'."
Li Yao said, "Think about it. I was only away from the federation for a hundred years, and Jin Xinyue was already capable of bragging me into 'dominator of three Sectors' and 'founding father of the federation'. While I do appreciate my disciple's fidelity, everything has limits. After all, a hat of 'dominator of three Sectors' is big enough for such a casual and low-key person such as myself. I won't be able to hold it anymore if it grows any bigger.
"Imagine this. The Star Glory Federation truly has a chance to march to the center of the cosmos a few hundred years later, establishing an enterprise that is even greater than the Imperium's today, and I have already died or been away in search of Earth by then. But 'Li Yao's group' still exists and expands abnormally into a 'Kurfürst family' in a different form, and I am embroidered into some sort of 'master of stars' or 'king of kings' who far exceeds Blackstar the Great. Then, they do all kinds of bad things under my name and let me take the blame. Eventually, a new hero rises in public indignity and overthrows the federation, and I am described as an unpardonable fiend in the new history books. Wouldn't I be terribly wronged in such a case?"
The mental devil was dazed for a long time. "That does make sense. Now that you put it in such a way, I am feeling somewhat sympathetic for Blackstar the Great!"
"The competition of the federation, the Imperium, and the Covenant Alliance will probably last for another hundreds of years, won't it? But I can't wait that long. As long as the three parties reach a balance, I will definitely set off to search for Earth, my earliest origins."
Li Yao threw away her casualness and said most solemnly, "However, I do not want to leave a federation that is full of hidden problems and may repeat the fate of the Star Ocean Republic and the Imperium of True Human Beings when I leave for Earth. I do not want to see a divided and corrupted Star Glory Federation just like what the Imperium is today when I return to the universe after I accomplish my missions on Earth!"
Chapter 2167: Eye of the Federation |
The mental devil said, "Then, what are you going to do? The problem you said just now carries no solutions at all!"
Li Yao said with a smile, "Exactly. The problem that so many ancient monarchs and even Blackstar the Great have failed to address is certainly too difficult for me who is only good at refining and fighting to resolve, if I can understand it at all!
"So, I have thought everything through. Since I do not have the wisdom to solve the problem, I might as well be a pair of dutiful eyes for the federation."
The mental devil asked suspiciously, "Eyes for the federation?"
"Yes. The Imperium of True Human Beings is in the middle of an outbreak of conflicts that have been accumulated for a thousand years and an unprecedentedly drastic transformation. I don't know how to change the federation, and it is barely possible for me to completely change the Imperium with my own hands. So, I might as well be the eye of the federation and observe how the Imperium of True Human Beings is going to fix the problems.
"I don't think that the reformists led by the queen will succeed, but even the lessons of failure will still be very valuable. I will observe everything at the closest distance and record the changes that are happening in the Imperium. One day, I will bring what I have seen, heard, and experienced in person back to the federation, hoping that the politicians, educators, economists, and sociologists who are a hundred times smarter than me, and even every future citizen of the federation, can learn something from the lessons of the Imperium. Everybody can work and think together to prevent the Star Glory Federation from repeating the mistakes of the ancient dynasties, the Star Ocean Republic, and the Imperium of True Human Beings, to avoid the swirl of degeneration that has looped for ten thousand years, and to create a better future!
"If I can really do that well, I will be able to search for Earth without any guilt. The things in the future can be left to the hands of the future people. Haha. I believe that a new generation of federal citizens who are stronger, smarter, and more excellent than Ding Lingdang, Jin Xinyue, and I will show up. They can take care of the upsetting mess!"
The mental devil said, "I sense that your belief is slowly condensing and consolidating. Your level seems to have made a minor improvement."
"Of course."
Li Yao smiled in his heart. "After knowing what I'm going to do exactly, I am completely relaxed, no longer disturbed by confusion and chaos. It is only natural that my belief is firmer!"
He strode forward. It was not until then that he remembered Li Jialing was still under his armpit. Glancing at the golden-haired young man who was still angry, he couldn't help but grin and ask him in private, "What's up? Are you still mad at the queen?"
Li Jialing's dark golden eyes constricted as he said sullenly, "Am I qualified to be mad at the queen? It was already kind enough of her to spare my life."
Li Yao blinked his eyes and put Li Jialing down as he continued talking in secret, "Don't talk like that. The queen's heart is obviously not as cold as her face. If she is not concerned about your safety, why would she ask me to pick a high-level crystal suit for you from her personal warehouse and to adjust it and train you in person? She could've cladded you with a random mass-produced product, couldn't she?
"Also, if she is not concerned about you, why do you think she analyzed the situation of the Imperium today so eloquently in such great detail just now?"
Li Jialing bulged his eyes. "Huh?"
Li Yao said with a smile, "If she only meant to talk me into joining her cause, it would've been unnecessary to explain the details so clearly, especially the dangers in the Imperium today and the purpose of her many methods. Those things were spoken to me on the surface but to you in fact. It is some sort of tutelage of a mother for her son."
Excited, the young man stammered, "Is-Is it true?"
"How would I know? It's just a random guess."
Li Yao rolled his eyes. "You want to know if it is true? Very simple. You can go and ask the queen."
